Sexual Abuse

People with disabilities are sexually assaulted at nearly three times the rate of people without disabilities. A 2005 survey of people with disabilities indicated that 60 percent of respondents had been subjected to some form of unwanted sexual activity. Unfortunately, almost half never reported the assault. In general, people with disabilities experience domestic and sexual violence at higher rates than people who do not have a form of disability. Consider the following:

83% of women with disabilities will be sexually assaulted in their lives.

Just 3% of sexual abuses involving people with developmental disabilities are ever reported.

50% of girls who are deaf have been sexually abused compared to 25% of girls who are hearing; 54% of boys who are deaf have been sexually abused in comparison to 10% of boys who are hearing.

Women with a disability are far more likely to have a history of undesired sex with an intimate partner – 19.7% vs. 8.2%.

Approximately 80% of women and 30% of men with developmental disabilities have been sexually assaulted – half of these women have been assaulted more than 10 times.[1]

A little-discussed issue, more widespread than one could imagine, allegations dismissed by facility officials as resident “hallucinations or fantasies,” and little or nothing being done by governmental agencies responsible for investigations after repeated reports and patterns of assaults. These are systemic failures, occurring in nursing homes across the country.

The state Supreme Court Monday threw out the conviction of a city man found guilty of sexually assaulting a severely handicapped woman. Read more

In a 4-3 decision, the high court ruled that despite evidence the 26-year-old woman cannot speak and has little body movement, there was no evidence she could not communicate her refusal to have sex with the defendant, Richard Fourtin, Jr. As a result of the ruling, Fourtin goes free and cannot be tried for the case again.

In January 2008, the 28-year-old Fourtin was convicted by a jury here of attempted second-degree and fourth-degree sexual assault and sentenced to six years in prison for sexually assaulting the severely handicapped woman in the Success Village housing complex in late 2005.

The woman, now 29, who in court only went by her initials, L.K., has severe cerebral palsy and cannot verbally communicate. She is so physically restricted that she is able to make motions only with her right index finger.

In order for the woman to testify during the trial, a small video camera was placed over her and a tray affixed to her chair. On the tray, the prosecutor placed a board printed with the letters of the alphabet along with the words “yes” and “no” on top.

After each question, the woman’s left hand would push her right hand, index finger sticking out, across the board to either spell out a word or answer yes or no. It was an exhausting process that lasted four days.

However, the defense argued that there was evidence the woman could communicate by biting, kicking, screaming and gesturing. They presented testimony at trial from a home health aide who said the woman would kick and groan if she didn’t get food she wanted.

The state Appellate Court later ruled she is not physically helpless under the state law in which a jury convicted Fourtin. The state then took an appeal to the Supreme Court.

“We are not persuaded that the victim was either unconscious or so uncommunicative that she was physically incapable of manifesting to the defendant her lack of consent to sexual intercourse at the time of the alleged sexual assault,” the high court ruled Monday.

The three dissenting justices accused the majority of acting as a “13th juror,” in the case and substituting their opinion for that of the jury.

The suspect arrested in the rape of a mentally disabled teen aboard a Metro bus has an extensive criminal history, including charges of sexual assault, authorities said Friday. Read more

Kerry Trotter, 20, of South Los Angeles, was arrested early Friday after the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced that detectives were searching for a man who had boarded a bus and for 10 minutes raped an 18-year-old woman. Trotter is being held on $1 million bail.

Authorities were also investigating whether the bus driver took appropriate action when the rape was reported aboard his bus. A lone witness had tried to get the driver’s attention while the assault occurred, according to sheriff’s department officials.

The attack happened about 5 p.m. Wednesday after the victim and her attacker boarded Bus Line 217 at La Cienega and Jefferson boulevards, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The 10-minute attack occurred at the rear of the bus, deputies said.

After it was over, the rapist got off the bus at Sepulveda Boulevard and Slauson Avenue, the route’s last stop.

The victim, who was said to have the mental capacity of a 10 year old, then told the driver after her assailant left the bus.

“She did not scream or shout out,” said Sgt. Dan Scott with the Sheriff’s Department. “She was too afraid to do so.”

Eighteen-year-old Joshua L. Smith is being tried on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

The teenager who prosecutors say was raped by Joshua L. Smith on Sept. 6, 2006, has a congenital syndrome that causes deformities in her bones, skin and hair, and mental and developmental disabilities.
She was 17 at the time of the attack but had the cognitive abilities of a 12-year-old. Read more

She is 19 now and, although she mixed up the names of some body parts during her testimony Thursday, she clearly told the jury in Smith’s rape trial that he forced her to have sex in the basement of his St. Paul home.

Smith, 18, is on trial in Ramsey County District Court on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He is accused of the September 2006 rape and the rape of another woman shortly after midnight New Year’s Day 2007.

That 57-year-old victim testified Tuesday that she was brutally and repeatedly raped, kicked and beaten in the parking lot of the Salvation Army on Payne Avenue. Smith was 16 at the time of the attacks and was certified to stand trial as an adult.

The teenage victim said Thursday that she had known Smith since she was in seventh grade.

“Were you friends?” prosecutor Jill Fedje asked.

“Not really,” the teen said.

Still, the two exchanged cell phone numbers after meeting up at a park. Smith called on Sept. 8 and invited her over.

Smith met her at the bus stop, the teenager said. He took her into the basement through a outside entrance and into a small room where he raped her twice and kicked her in the head in between.

The teenager said she felt scared and threatened. Smith took her cell phone — her mother had told her that if she lost it she wouldn’t get another one.

The Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Victimization and Safety developed a practical performance indicator tool to track progress over time in serving survivors of domestic and sexual violence who have disabilities, and measure these efforts against field standards.

Disclaimer: The language used to describe people with developmental disabilities has changed over time. Many terms and language that are now considered disrespectful and offensive were once considered acceptable.
As people with developmental disabilities have begun to advocate for the use of “people first” language and more respectful words to describe people with disabilities in spoken and written language, terms such as “retarded,” “handicapped,” “trainable,” and “educable” have been replaced in many laws documents.
However, the remnants of what is now considered unacceptable language and terms may still be found in references to official governmental bodies (i.e. President’s Panel on Mental Retardation), organizations that were founded during these earlier years, federal laws, reports (i.e. Community Residences for Mentally Retarded Persons), case law, and quotations. These terms are used from time to time in this website, for historical accuracy.